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Recently at Anandagiri we had our Kathina ceremony. It was quite a big and auspicious occasion for our usually quiet meditation sanctuary, as we received a good number of visiting monks as well as around 300 joyful, kind and generous lay guests! As the occasion was one where the Buddha statue and Dhamma Hall were also to be officially offered, as well as a new adjoining piece of land, many supporters made a special effort to come.

Traditionally in Thailand on the evening before the Kathina offering there is a night of Dhamma sharing. As many people are 'cooking up a storm' or 'arranging an avalanche of flowers' the evening before tends to be comprised of those who are more specifically interested in meditation. I felt that it was a good opportunity to acknowledge the significant good already present in all of those in attendance, and then to try to mirror back the importance of distilling and refining this goodness more and more on the mental level. Coming together in generosity and harmony is powerfully enriching… as it also lays the very foundation for deepening the cultivation and harmonising of the particular mental qualities that lead to liberation.

I hope that something in this talk is nourishing in some way, and that you may feel Blessed and supported in your spiritual practice wherever you find yourself now.